In today's slowly fading edition of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Professor Rickshaw wonders how many people still have locally-owned, "mom and pop" video game stores (like CC Gaming World in Kennesaw, Georgia, pictured above) in their area, and shares a reason why they are awesome places to shop.

Recently (just a few hours ago, in fact) I bought the Halo: Combat Evolved Special Edition (Original) Xbox Console. As a Halo fanboy I was thrilled to see it at my local game store (well not technically just a game store, they sell movies and music there, too). When I say "local", I mean locally owned, not Gamestop or any game store franchise. Best part of all, it was reasonably priced (<$50).

Do any of you have a locally owned game store (locally-owned chain will count) in your neighborhood/town/city/etc. that you still shop at? If so, was there any particular treasure you found that wouldn't be at a local Gamestop (such as my special edition Original Xbox console).

About Speak Up on Kotaku: Our readers have a lot to say, and sometimes what they have to say has nothing to do with the stories we run. That's why we have a forum on Kotaku called Speak Up. That's the place to post anecdotes, photos, game tips and hints, and anything you want to share with Kotaku at large. Every weekday we'll pull one of the best Speak Up posts we can find and highlight it here.